Even after eight months,the state government is yet to respond to a CBI request seeking sanction for the prosecution of Lucknow SSP and nine other police officers in an alleged fake encounter case.

Sources in the CBI said the agencys special crime branch,in a letter to the state government in December last year,had sought permission to prosecute 2005 batch IPS officer J Ravinder Goud,along with four sub-inspectors and five constables,for their alleged involvement in the Bareilly fake encounter case in 2007. Goud,was made the SSP of Lucknow in February.

The CBI,according to the sources,has been sending reminders to the state every 15 days,but so far has not received any response on sanction,which,sources added,the agency needs to obtain before it could forward its request to the Ministry of Home Affairs for their sanction too.

Sources in the Home Department said that the decision on the sanction has to be taken by the Chief Minister. They added that the legal formalities over the CBIs charges against Goud and other policemen have already been completed.

On June 30,2007,the Bareilly police claimed they intercepted a Tata Sumo carrying robbers who opened fire at them. In retaliatory firing,one Mukul Gupta (26) of Budaun was killed,the police said,adding that they also arrested two of Guptas associates,driver Vicky Sharma and another named Pankaj,while the fourth,identified as Prem Shankar,managed to flee.

Initially,the police lodged a case of attempt to murder against Pankaj,Mukul and others on a complaint filed by Goud,who was,at the time of the incident,Bareillys ASP.

However,the CBI investigation revealed that the men did not fire at the police but the policemen fired at Mukul and Pankaj on Gouds direction.

Following Allahabad High Courts direction,Bareilly Chief Judicial Magistrate ordered an FIR into the matter,following which the CBI held Goud and nine others under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and conspiracy.